Help please, sp 101 locked up

[mikea]

sp 101 locked up, fixed

newbie on the forum here...
went to the range to shoot the sp101 today. shot 5 rds winchester fmj 38 special. shot 5 rds cci blazer 357 magnum. all shooting was single action. loaded 4 rds cci 357magnum with the hammer on the empty chamber to practice drawing from holster. drew the gun, went to fire double action and the cylinder locked up....now, it moved enough to be on the loaded round but i can't open the cylinder, cock the hammer or pull the trigger. what do you suppose happened?
not sure how the cylinder moved and locked but did not fire a round. anyway...before i try to find a good gunsmith in the western pa area thought i would ask here....would like to get the gun unloaded before i take it to someone...fyi, gun is currently locked up, in small range bag, facing down with patches wrapped around the hammer...
any help would be greatly appreciated.
i purchased this gun new in 2002, but i don't have 200 rounds through it...(very casual shooter)...i love the gun. maybe it needs sent back..???

mike

 

[yesterdaysyouth]

i'm not a ruger man, but it sounds like the extractor rod has worked loose...

you can use a piece of wood jammed in between the extractor rod and the housing to tighten it enough to get the cylinder out, of course this will require you spin the cylinder, which means cocking the hammer enough to drop the cylinder stop...

 

[Ham Hock]

I avoid cci blazer. In my experience, it really fouls up the gun fast.

On the other hand, I think it would take a lot more than what you fired to bind up anything.

I would first look for noticible crud on the front of the cylinder and see if any carbon or lead fouling is blocking anything.

 

[munk]

Don't use force until you know what's going on.



munk

 

[Cool Hand Luke 22:36]

How clean was the gun? It doesn't take much crud under the extractor star to cause binding problems on my SP-101.

You might want to try asking at the Ruger Forum also:

http://rugerforum.com/

 

[Ruger Redhawk]

The Rugerforum wasn't accepting new members. They are going through upgrades and have stopped accepting new members.A friend tried to register a week or two ago. I'm sure that will change shortly.As mentioned already the Ejector rod may have worked loose or trash under the star.Once you get it opened and unloaded,if it continues I would recommend sending it back to Ruger.Without seeing it I'm more to believe it will be your ejector rod causing it.It would take a awful lot of trash under the Star to lock it up as you described.

Ruger Redhawk

 

[mikea]

thanks all for the replies...been very busy and can't even get to take the gun out of the safe to look at it...tried to join the ruger forum....will do so when they start up again. i am going to find a smith to get it unloaded and then contact ruger about sending back to look at it.

thanks again for everyones input.

mike

 

[Bronco45]

Rugers do not have an ejector rod that screws in or out like a Smith or a Colt. At least not the SP or RH or GP. I would guess that you might have crud underneath your cylinder star. Is the hammer resting on an empty chamber. If it is take it to a gunsmith and he will get your cylinder open without damaging the weapon.

I have owned 3 SPs since they were introduced and they are STOUT PIGS that digest Magnums and everything else w/ alacrity and accuracy. You've got a good weapon just a small glitch.

 

[mikea]

no, right now it is resting on a loaded chamber...but the hammer is down and cannot be cocked...looking to find a capable smith to get it unloaded to try to figure out what went wrong! i only have about 200 rounds through it...mostly .38's.
i love the gun, but am nervous about getting it fixed without it being scratched or damaged in any way. plus it is loaded, so want to take it to someone responsible. i don't have the experience to try anything myself...other than at an empty range ....fooling with opening the cylinder by hand.

mike

 

[TWBryan]

Ok, you've immobilized the hammer so it can't fire? Take the gun somewhere where you can make a mess. Parts cleaner pan in the garage. Keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. Find a good spray can of gun cleaner,CLP,Ballistol,nitro bore solvent etc.
First thing,remove the grips,keep the gun pointed in safe direction, as you pull the grips off there should be a small copper colored pin in a recess beneath one of the grip panels (I think the right). Once you get the grip off you'll be able to see the main spring. At the bottom of the main spring strut there is a hole the little copper pin can be inserted in. If the spring is compressed enough you should be able to inset the copper pin into the hole. Doing so will keep the hammer from going forward,and you should be able to then remove the mainspring. If you get the mainspring out the gun can't fire.
You can then lay the gun in the parts cleaner pan and hose it down with gun cleaner,this should eventually dissolve the crud that's binding the gun. Once you get it unloaded ,clean it up,reassemble unloaded and ship it to Ruger,they will fix the problem.

HTH

TWBryan

 

[Mikul]

This sounds like my Redhawk. Is there any space between the cylinder and the forcing cone. My Redhawk would randomly bind at a certain chamber and lock up just like yours did. I could force it open, however. It went back to Ruger twice before it was resolved.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Also,

Using a backlight, look through the gap between the cylinder and barrel to see if a bullet has backed out of the cartridge far enough to bind the cylinder. If so, you can take a wooden dowel and VERY, VERY, VERY carefully tap the bullet back just far enough to get the cylinder open.

I would suspect that you have some gunk or grit under the extractor star and it's binding against the frame. Try pressing your cylinder release and lightly tapping the side of the cylinder with a small, non-marring hammer or wooden dowel to see if the cylinder will work it's way out. I've had this happen often on my SP101 when shooting 38 reloads with a case filler. The gritty filler gets under the extractor star and causes binding problems.

Brad

 

[mikea]

ok...i talked with an armorer at ruger today...and after we talked he thought i could take a plastic mallet and try to hammer open the cylinder. well, here is what i have...looks as if a round of cci blazer went off just enough to jam the bullet into the barrel!!!!see pic....

tapped the bullet out with a cleaning rod.....

edit with smaller pic...

mike

 

[dasmi]

Ugh, no good. Hope Ruger works it out for you.

 

[mikea]

sorry about that huge pic...thought i had it down to 3x5

think i should let cci know about their bad round?

mike

 

[George S.]

That would keep me from ever buying CCI ever again. You could let them know but whether or not it would do any good is something else. If you do tell them, make sure you give them the lot number from the box.

 

[Gordy Wesen]

I hate squibs.

:banghead:

 

[mikea]

thats exactly what it was....a squib load.. ..the powder was still in the casing...it fell out when i removed it.

Brad Johnson wrote

Using a backlight, look through the gap between the cylinder and barrel to see if a bullet has backed out of the cartridge far enough to bind the cylinder. If so, you can take a wooden dowel and VERY, VERY, VERY carefully tap the bullet back just far enough to get the cylinder open.

ding, ding, ding, give that man a cigar... ..thats exactly what the problem was...in hind site...thats what i could have done...knowing now that the round was truly a dud...i was very concerned about tapping anything back in inline with the loaded gun.. ...the other thing is that i don't remember any indication that the round fired.... or more to the point...what moved that bullet the 1/2 centimeter that it moved....the primer ignition?

George S.

That would keep me from ever buying CCI ever again. You could let them know but whether or not it would do any good is something else. If you do tell them, make sure you give them the lot number from the box.

i have used cci very sparingly in the past...this is the only box of 50 that i have and i have about 30 rounds left...i think i have the end flap for the box....not sure if it has the lot number...(i put ammo into plastic boxes)
i will contact ruger today...see about sending it back to make sure no damage done and send off a letter to cci and see what it does....thanks again all for your input...everyone....

mike

 

[Stainz]

As the bullet's base was dragging, and it was copper-clad lead and much softer than the Ruger's cast steel, I doubt anything on the revolver was hurt. Try dry-firing the now empty revolver to see if it feels okay. Next, check the b/c gap to see that it is consistent, ie, doesn't open or close as you cycle the revolver through all of it's chambers. Finally, release the cylinder and spin it, observing the rotating rod and cylinder - no wobbling is good. If it passes all of these, save your money on that return to Ruger. If it were a S&W, a call on their 800 number would result in a prepaid stamp; everything - call and postage included - is yours with a Ruger.

Re CCI Blazers. They are TMJ - and quite good indoors also because of their low emission powder and primers. The Al cases can be a problem. I shot thousands of 9mm 115gr FMJ's through a CZ-75 and Marlin Camp 9 without any problems. Thousands of .45 ACP 230gr FMJ without problems through a Kahr/AO 1927A1, Camp .45, and S&W 625, again, trouble free. A thousand 200gr GDJHP's in .44 Special via my S&W 296 followed - and stopped abruptly when one case split over it's middle third while in my SS 696. I won't use those rounds again - and I haven't had a bottom-feeder for over a year, so no need for the 9mm or .45's (I reload for my 625.). If I had a 9mm, I'd probably still use them... Academy Sports has them for $3.88/50!

Stainz

 

[larryw]

How hard did you have to beat on the cylinder to get it to shear the bullet in half like that?

I know Rugers are virtually indestructible, but I hope you'll be sending it back to Ruger for a checkup.

 

[medmo]

I hope you feel either extremely luck or blessed. If that bullet had gone further and allowed you to thumb the hammer to fire the next round you would have been in a BAD situation. It doesn't matter how sturdy the Ruger is it would have been real dangerous. You need to either go by a lottery ticket or bend a knee in prayer, (or both).